"So … your fiancée was worried that it would seem like she was sleeping with gay guys?"
Riley let out a low chuckle, but it held no humor. "Not exactly. She was more concerned about what people would imagine went on if they knew she was sleeping with brothers."
It took Kinley a moment to process what Riley was saying. Once she did, her jaw dropped with shock at what this mystery woman had insinuated. "That's ridiculous! You and Law would never … She's a bitch."
Kinley never used that kind of language, but it seemed terribly appropriate now. How dare she?
Riley stared at her for a moment, his face impassive. "I share women with my brother. It's not the average, so a lot of people let their imaginations go wild. If I was also involved with you, we'd all get tainted by the whispers. How are you going to get people to donate to your charity when everyone calls you and the men you consort with perverts?"
"First off, not everyone would. A lot of people wouldn't think that at all or care about my personal life. The ones who want to presume that sort of crap behind my back, I don't care about." At least she didn't anymore. She'd wasted too much time trying to please other people.
"You say that now, but once we get back to the real world, you'll change your story."
"Riley, I've lived my whole life being worried about what people will think of me. I grew up in high society where a woman's reputation is everything. My sister has a sterling reputation. She's considered one of the finest women in the city. She's a selfish liar who cheats on her husband and thinks her babies are just a way to control him. She's planning on letting someone snuff out her only sister, and her parting shot to me was 'ta-ta.' She lives that so-called 'normal' life brilliantly, but I think she must be one of the most miserable human beings on this planet to behave the way she does. If that's normal, it's pretty crappy. And I want no part of that."
Riley shook his head. "You say that now, but wait until you don't have your stellar reputation anymore. You don't know what it's like to have the whole world look down on you."
He was completely missing the point of life. "Do you know what it's like to have one person lift you up? Because I might not have had the world look down on me, but I haven't had anyone really love me either. I think I would risk almost anything to have that in my life."
"You're awfully naïve."
"I've been told that before, but I think you're awfully cynical."
"That happens fast when you're the kid of the town whore."
"Don't you call her that." No matter who he was, Kinley wasn't about to let someone talk about Law's mother that way. When he'd talked to her as California Mike, Law had been completely open about his mother. Though she'd been flawed and damaged, he'd loved her.
Riley shrugged. "It's what she did."
"But it didn't define who she was," Kinley argued.
"I'm just being realistic, the same way Simone was. She wanted Dominic's connections to climb the social ladder, using my back and Law's as the rungs. Keeping him separate from us in public was the only way she could hope to achieve that because a woman who slept with two brothers and their friend … who knew what went on there? Speculation would always run rampant, and she'd always be a whore."
"You were in love with her." Nothing else explained his bitterness.
Riley hesitated, then shook his head. "I was in love with the idea of her. I was in love with the idea of having the relationship I wanted. Simone showed me the truth."
"No, Simone showed you what a horrible person she was."
"She wanted what all women want."
"What do you think that is? In my book, it's love and companionship. To be desired and needed."
He snorted. "Try money, respect, and a place in society."
"Wow. She did a number on you. I'm surprised. I wouldn't have expected you to just lie down like that and take it. You either loved her with every ounce of your soul or you're not the person I thought you were."
He frowned her way. "I didn't love her."
If that was true, he sure seemed willing to give up an awful lot for a woman who didn't have his heart. "But are you going to let her dictate the rest of your life?"
His cynical smile was back. "Oh, please. Are you going to try to tell me that you're not going to let what Greg Jansen did affect you? You already have. You just tossed out twenty-five years of saving yourself for marriage to give Greg a big old 'fuck you.' So I wouldn't say too much about not bowing to bitterness if I were you."